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Crusader 5.5-in. SP
The Crusader 5.5-in. SP is a British tier 7 self-propelled gun. An SPG on the Crusader chassis with a 140-mm howitzer. The vehicle was developed after the end of WWII. The work on the project was discontinued at the prototyping stage. Never entered mass production or saw service. The Crusader mounted with a 5.5-inch gun could be considered an 'oddball' mainly in terms of speed. Because the gun is mounted backwards, players spawn back-to-front which means driving in reverse actually achieves a higher top speed than driving normally. The plan is to drive backwards when moving between firing positions, and then forwards when adjusting your firing angles. Its top gun has great range, a good aiming time, and a respectable rate of fire, although it has poor alpha damage for its tier and somewhat low accuracy. The Crusader 5.5-in. SP leads to the FV207. Player Opinion Pros and Cons Pros: * Top gun has very long range at 1300 m * Good aim time and rather large gun arc * Decent reload time makes up for lack of damage * Small size and very good maneuverability for artillery * Great acceleration and good top reverse speed (43KM/H), excellent for escaping after shooting Cons: * Poor range for stock gun (500 m), But its still better than FV304 * Poor alpha for its tier, but can still easily cripple enemies * Engine speeds are flipped, meaning going in reverse is faster, which can lead to confusion. * Top gun has a low shell arc (but significantly faster shell travel time) * Hard to perform a "drive-by" due to the poor "forward" speed Performance Unlike most tanks, the Crusader SP has a faster reverse speed than forward speed: 44 km/h compared to 14. This is because its gun faces the rear of the tank. Although it gets a gun with twice as much damage and range than the FV, it's not as effective at distances higher than 600m due to only average accuracy combined with below average splash radius. That said, use your high mobility, low profile and gun depression to hide behind small hills at a fair distance from the enemy and shoot them, that is play more as a TD with very low health and armor. In addition, this arty is one of the best at defending itself due to high reverse speed and great turning, fast reload time (for SPG) and the fact that it has gun depression, which is very usable at close quarters fight. Some players can use this to their advantage by backing around a corner, as their gun is already facing towards the approaching enemy, and rotate the camera around for the shot. Unfortunately, the reduction in SPG alpha damage has reduced the usefulness of this trait as one-shot kills have become the exception, rather than the rule. Players may consider using the stock gun, rather than the top gun. With the top gun, the Crusader SP becomes a poor copy of the other mid-tier SPGs doing rather less damage per shot than most, having poor DPM and with awkward driving controls. It is, for example, inferior in pretty much all aspects to the GW Panther. Its accuracy is reasonably good, but that is offset by the lack of damage. With the stock gun, it is at least an interesting SPG to play. Although it has low alpha damage and short range, it is more accurate, has higher DPM and, most importantly, its high shell arch ensures that hits land on top of the target, rather than the front/side. Early Research * The WS No. 19 Mk. III Radio carries over from the FV304. Mount it immediately. * First, research the Nuffield Liberty Mk. V Engine. * Next, research the Crusader 5.5-in. SP Suspension. * Finally, research the B.L. 5.5-in. Gun. Historical Info 5.5 inch howitzer The 5.5-inch Gun was one of the two British medium guns of World War 2, which both used the same carriage (the other was the 4.5-inch Gun). It first entered service in 1942 replacing 6-inch Howitzers in medium regiments. It had limited service in Indian regiments and equipped a South African and three Canadian regiments in Europe. It was popular and recognized as an effective gun, however, there was a problem with bore premature, particularly in Burma and in late 1944 some 5.5-inch were temporarily replaced by old 6-inch howitzers in that theatre. Initially it had a 100 lb shell but later in the war an 80 lb shell was introduced and this eventually replaced the 100 lb. It left British service in the mid-1970s, UK last used them operationally in Borneo and Radfan in the mid-1960s and the last round was fired in UK was in 1995. Its last operational use seems to have been with the South African Defence Force in Angola in the 1980s. In European countries it was referred to as the 140-mm (or 14-cm) gun. Self propelled variants No SP versions ever entered service although an SP was the highest priority equipment at the end on WW2. After WW2 there was an open SP built on the Crusader gun tractor, some design work on FV 305, a 5.5-inch SP using the proposed FV 300 series carriage, it was cancelled in 1948. However, in 1950 a new SP design started, FV 3805, based on a Centurion tank chassis. A prototype was built, it had a fully enclosed fighting compartment and a barbette mounted gun. It was cancelled in about 1958. Category:Tanks